The present invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for outputting outcomes of a gaming device.
Gaming devices (e.g., reeled slot machines, video poker machines, video keno machines, video blackjack, and video bingo machines) generate more than $15 billion per year in revenue for casinos in the United States alone. This figure accounts for more than half of the gaming revenue for a typical United States casino. The situation is similar in other countries in which gaming devices are popular, such as Australia. Accordingly, casino operators are interested in increasing the enjoyment of playing a slot machine in order to maintain or increase this level of revenue.
The output of an outcome on a gaming device is, or should be, an exciting moment for a player of the gaming device. It is the moment that the player is informed of whether he has won or lost the game for which the outcome is being output. Yet to date little if any attention has been paid by gaming device manufacturers and operators on how this moment may be enhanced and thus the player's enjoyment of playing the gaming device increased. Typically, enhanced graphics and sound effects are the extent of any efforts that have been put into enhancing the output of an outcome. It is thus not surprising that some players feel disappointed because the output of an outcome, even a winning one, is so brief and offers little to make it stand out from the remainder of game play. At the very least, the method of output of an outcome is typically not a reason why players select a particular gaming device to play because there is so little differentiation among gaming devices in this process.
An increase in players' enjoyment of game play by making the output of outcomes a more exciting experience would result in increased play of the gaming devices and thus an increase in revenue for the owners and operators of the gaming devices. Further, enhancing the method of output of an outcome may serve to distinguish a gaming device that incorporates the enhanced method and thus attract more players to such a gaming device. Accordingly, a need exists for enhancing the manner in which an outcome for a gaming device is output.